Tony Avent to speak at garden and landscape symposium
Tony Avent has taken expeditions to China, Crete, Taiwan, South Africa, Argentina and many areas of the United States.
But he hasn’t been seeking rare animals or gems. He looks for plants — many of which he showcases at the 28-acre Juniper Level Botanic Garden near Raleigh, N.C., and at his retail and mail-order nursery, Plant Delights.
Known as the “mythbuster of horticulture,” he will be sharing his expertise on plants as the keynote speaker at this year’s Garden and Landscape Symposium in Fox Chapel on April 27.
Interested in plants since childhood, Mr. Avent attended North Carolina State University, obtaining a degree in horticultural science in 1978. He studied under famed horticulturist J.C. Raulston, who kindled Mr. Avent’s passion for the newest and best garden plants from around the world.
As landscape director for the North Carolina State Fairgrounds for 16 years, he found time to be the volunteer curator for the shade garden at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum from 1985 to 1994.
Founded in 1988, Plant Delights nursery is the funding source for Juniper Level Botanic Garden, also established in 1988 near Raleigh.
At any time, the nursery website offers more than 1,700 plants for sale. The Juniper Level Botanic Garden features 60,000 plants.
Mr. Avent believes in the importance of trialing plants in realworld conditions. He spends 10 to 20 years evaluating plants before offering them for sale, much longer than most commercial growers.
Taking 10 to 15 years is incredibly hard to do, “yet it’s what we should be doing — we need to serve the higher purpose,” he said. “Like the slow food movement, I’d like to see a slow plant movement from the growers to the gardeners.”
His plant breeding efforts began with hosta in 1984 and have expanded to include the agave, arum, crinum, baptisia, epimedium, Hellborus, mahonia, trillium, yucca and Zephyranthes.
He laments the loss of plants that have gone out of fashion and are hard to find commercially. An example is flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata), native to eastern Mississippi. “It’s not a standout in the wild, but is a standout in the garden,” he said.
His plant catalog both informs and entertains. Alabama wild ginger (Asarum speciosum ‘Woodlander’s Select’) is found in only two counties in Alabama. His catalog describes it: “In late spring, the base of this deer-resistant wild ginger clump is flush with giant silver dollar-sized flowers that look like an owl’s bloodshot eyes might, awakening after a threeday binge.”
“We need to celebrate plant diversity. With greater diversity, you’ll have greater wildlife
population, less disease, greater health, more light, fresh air; you’ll spend more time outside and less inside in front of the computer,” he said.
In smaller gardens this might mean planting in “drifts of one.” That topic will be one of two he presents at the symposium.
All those attending the symposium will receive a catalog from Plant Delights Nursery. Or you can receive a catalog by sending a box of chocolates or 10 stamps to Plant Delights, 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, NC 27603.
He’ll kick off the symposium with a talk on “Perennials: What’s New, Exciting and Overlooked.”
This year’s Garden and Landscape Symposium will run from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. at Shady Side Academy Senior School, 423 Fox Chapel Road.
Other speakers and topics include: Jennifer Bartley — “Designing the New Kitchen Garden”; Cynthia Morton — “Park and Nursery Tree Genetics”; and Vinnie Cotrone — “Designing to Manage Rain Where It Falls.”
Register online at: http://extension.psu.edu/ garden-landscape-symposium or call 1-877-345-0691. The symposium fee is $105 before March 24, $120 after and includes breakfast and lunch. The event also features the Garden Marketplace, with more than 25 vendors, which is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will showcase perennials, annuals, fruit and vegetable plants and shrubs, garden books, tools and accessories.
Mickey Stobbe is a Penn State Master Gardener. This volunteer program supports the outreach mission of Penn State Extension and provides research-based information on best practices in sustainable horticulture and environmental stewardship. Information: alleghenymg@psu.edu or 412-4823476.